TAN
by Lazy Tobi
Summary: 10 for NejiTen challenge. Slightly random stories following the prompts and lives of two teammates and sparring partners.
1. Cha Cha Slide

**TenTen and Neji  
AU****  
****Rated:** T  
**Disclaimer**: I don't have any legal ownership over Neji, TenTen, Lee, Gai, the Cha Cha Slide, The Cupid Shuffle, or even the prompt. Kishimoto owns the characters; I have no clue who owns the songs, and . the prompts.

_..::1. There comes a time when every lonely little boy must learn to dance.::.._

"Left foot stomp! Right foot stomp!" A boy stared as his gym class danced, giggling and laughing. His unnaturally pale gray almost white eyes (his pupils were, oddly, the same color as his irises) were wide.

"Hiya!" The boy jumped slightly, startled, as the girl popped up at his side.

"Why ain't'cha dancing?" The girl asked curiously. The boy looked her over uncertainly as she did the same to him. She seemed normal enough with her tanned Asian skin, warm honey brown eyes, and cinnamon brown hair. Her hairstyle was the only thing out of the norm – it was up in two twin buns.

He was unnatural looking in many ways. Though he was pure Asian, he was a paler white than the English-Asian kids. His eyes made him look like he was blind when he wasn't, and he had long milk chocolate hair. He covered his forehead with bandages like he was wounded; yet he wasn't. For a boy his age, too, he was probably underweight and highly resembled a fairly pretty girl.

"'Cause." The boy replied simply.

"I'm TenTen." The girl said, smiling.

"Neji" He curtly replied.

"Eh?! No way! _You're _the boy all the girls in my class think is cute?! You look like a girl!" TenTen exclaimed, slightly bruising Neji's ego.

"There is no other boy who looks like me, is there?" He asked, girlish voice (1) filled with scorn.

"Well… no…" TenTen mused.

"You ain't dancing just 'cause you don't wanna?" She asked as Neji remained silent.

"Hai."

"Well, you look sad and lonely. You also are watching the others like you wanna dance. You do, don't you?" TenTen said knowingly.

"Don't you want to get back to your friends?" Neji asked sourly.

"What friends? All the girls here have no lives, only playing with dolls and crap… They can't even throw a _golf ball_ well. It's like none of them have heard of the word 'outdoor' or 'dirty'. They fawn all over you, too, though I dunno why… You look and sound like a girl, Neji-san. No offense intended, and, sorry, I wasn't tricked – answer my question."

Neji was fooled, for sure. He was disappointed the girl remembered her question after all her rambling. He didn't answer her question at once, but he pondered himself… _did_ he want to join his gym class?

"… Won't I look stupid, though?" Neji asked, finally.

"Nope! Everyone does it!" TenTen beamed, "C'mon!"

She took his hand and dragged him into the dancing crowd of kindergarteners.

"Just follow what the ojii (2) says; it's not hard!" TenTen said.

"One hop this time! One hop this time!" The voice blared. Neji watched the giggling girl as she followed what the man on the CD said. It looked stupid but fun.

"Oh, you baka!" TenTen sighed when she noticed Neji was just watching (again), looking lonelier than ever. She stood in front of him and took his hands.

"Mimic me." And so he did. When it said to jump, he did, hand in hand with TenTen. Soon a smile wandered onto his face, laughter escaping his lips as TenTen did stuff the wrong way on purpose.

Soon, he didn't know when, he was neither longer mimicking nor holding hands with her; she was at his side, laughing with him. Other kids said they were doing it wrong, but, under TenTen's orders, he ignored them. A boy from the sidelines soon joined the two, doing odd movements galore. Neji vaguely remembered the slightly chubby (3) boy as Lee.

That one dance in kindergarten began the inseparable friendship between the three. They were odd, crazy, weird, and, at some times, cool. Not matter what, though, they were together.

"So… The Cha Cha Slide, ne?" Neji, now a slightly muscled 23-year-old lanky, said as TenTen put in a CD. She had grown into a curvy, beautiful young woman. They were in Neji's garage with out Lee (he was on a date with his forever dream girl, Sakura).

"Uh-huh. The dance that started it all 17 years ago." TenTen chirped. Neji laughed, pulling the girl into a hug.

"It did start everything, didn't it? I remember asking you to the prom when Sakura was playing it, and at the prom, we danced to it." Neji mused, as the track played. It was an old, forgotten song now. Even The Cupid Shuffle had long past, too, after it overrode the Cha Cha Slide.

"Wasn't it playing when you kissed me?" TenTen asked, sliding to the right with the track.

"Maybe." Neji snickered. "And when I asked you to marry me?" He added.

"EH?!" TenTen whirled around to see Neji on one knee, box in hand.

"Kneel down and ask her for her hand." Their old (and closest – they were still in touch via Lee) sensei, Gai's, voice ran through the altered CD.

"Mind marrying an ass like me? Neji asked. TenTen flushed.

"The girl shall say yes and then dance the night away." Gai's voice said, again fro the CD Neji has switched with the original the day before.

"You're supposed to follow the song, ne?" He asked, opening the box.

"H-hai!" TenTen glomped him, laughing madly. Just as the CD said, they followed, and danced the night away… no, actually, until Lee came over after his date was done to find out the results.

**A/N:** _Heh, not what you were expecting, ne? It just came to me after I read the prompt… I took little boy literally and made Neji, Lee, and TenTen's gym class do what I had to do in gym – dance to the Cha Cha Slide. X3_

_(1) Neji had a very girly voice when he was four in the anime, so I highly doubt it would change too much in a year._

_(2) Ojii means old man._

_(3) In Lee's flashbacks of his Academy days, he was chubby._

_Hope you liked it. I randomly decided to do the 10 For NejiTen challenge, and came up with plots for all ten last night. I could only write three before I had to go to bed (early tennis camp)… and I'm too lazy to write up three in one day. Nyeh! :P I'll tell you, though, some will be AU, others won't, some can be a bit angst while others can be humorous… and the length will change dramatically between prompts. I'll also have a trilogy in here… but bai-bai for now._

_~ Tobi_


	2. Breathe

**TenTen and Neji   
IU, book 22  
Rated:** K+   
**Disclaimer**: If I owned Naruto, Team Gai would get way more love. :D

_Italics_ means a flashback.  
This is number one in the trilogy, though it does have a sort of companion shot later on.

_..::2. Hope is a waking dream.::.._

A weak smile meandered its way onto his bloodied lips, and soon an orange bird feather tickled his bandages palm. _Orange… 'Cause unlike me, you're not a failure._ No. He was _not_ gonna die here. Not here, now, or any time soon.

_Hey, Neji. You can beat 'em, Neji. You were awesome, Neji. Let's take a break, Neji. You did good today, Neji._ Why her? He wondered, picturing her dazzling smile. She wasn't anything special, ne? Wrong. She was everything to him. His light in the dark, his will of fire. He wanted to be there for her to make up for his… assiness… the past year or so.

_No. I won't die yet. Too many people count on me. _He had said that. Wrong gain… well, a bit wrong. Too many people _did_ count on him… and she was one of them. _I know you've got my back since I have yours._ So confident… Neji knew he was nejied(1)… he was heart and soul for her. He hated(and probably feared) rejection. So he was staying away from getting close to her, confessions – anything of that sort. Besides, it was still too early… they were so young… Neji lost consciousness thinking about her and knew he wouldn't die yet. Fate had more in store for him, he knew it.

**A/N**: _So… the first in the trilogy. Basically, it's gonna have Neji's view(this one), then TenTen's(4, I think…), and finally… I dunno. Still writing that one(#6). XD This one was a bit short, ne? Well, FF makes everything shorter than it is by stretching it out. Like the last one… it was one for about 5 or 6-ish pages. So short… DX Bleh.___

_(1) I don't know 100% sure that that means 'screwed' but I'll go out on a limb for it. Neji means 'screw', and add an ed… screwed. I hate to do that, gomen neesai. It's too funny not to put… just like Sai sighed.___

_~ Tobi_


	3. Tennis

**TenTen and Neji   
AU  
Rated:** T   
**Disclaimer**: I own zilch. Though the clothes designs I could call my own if they aren't made. I made them up on the fly, so… who knows.

_..::3. Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.::.._

Tennis was his life; tennis was her life. There was no room for relationships.

She looked dazzling in her Chinese-style yukata. It was navy blue with and ivory obi. Golden dragonflies and lily pads danced over the silk in perfect harmony.

He looked brilliant in his kimonohis father once wore. It was jet black with a snow white obi and a Siberian tiger imprinted on the right side.

They were polar opposites, yet they were the same. He was a cold ass jock; she was a warm, friendly jock. They lived for tennis. Both harbored unwanted feelings towards the other. It didn't help one of her best friends (she had three – Hinata, Temari, and Karin) was his younger cousin. It didn't help that his troublesome cousin was dating the infamous prankster, Uzumaki, Naruto. It sure as hell didn't help that the four (Hinata, Temari, Karin, and Naruto) plotted about hooking them up. It mother fucking sure as hell did not help when their damn pranks shitting worked. (1)

"Damn those freaks." Neji cursed, testing the door again. It didn't budge.

"Ne, those are my friends, Hyuuga – don't talk shit." TenTen snapped, sitting on one of the desks. Neji had no idea how the dobe had gotten him locked in an empty classroom with _her_.

"I'll say what I please, thanks." Neji snapped, eyes anywhere but on her.

"Ass." She huffed, looking at the blackboard.

"Wanna talk 'bout tennis, teichou (2)?" TenTen asked. _Talk about bi-polar…_ Neji thought crossly.

"Why are you calling me teichou when you're your own teichou (3)?" He asked.

"'Cause I can, dumb ass."

"_You're_ the dumb ass, dumb ass." Neji retorted. TenTen glared at him as he glared at her.

"You're cute when you're mad." He slipped up, but he couldn't resist. He was, after all, a hormone-charged teenage male no matter how good he was at hiding it.

"Complimenting me now, Hyuuga?" TenTen snapped, as he walked slowly close.

"No, I didn't mean that." Neji growled, getting annoyed again.

"Oh, yeah, I'll believe _that_ wimpy excuse." TenTen said, rolling her eyes.

"Sure you will." He retorted sarcastically. She stuck her tongue out at him, and that drove the "poor" boy over the edge.

The familiar taste of wintergreen fell onto her tongue and mint onto his. There was no gentleness between the two – it really probably wasn't in their vocabulary. It was a fierce battle for dominance that soon fell into a less… fighty… kiss when she tortured him. Neji whined slightly; he needed something behind her.

When she straddled his him, her forced her to lie back on the desk. In revenge, she grinded her hips against his. Neji whined again, feeling her legs and making her moan. The battle for dominance was on again… until a loud, "I bet'cha it worked! Dattebayo!", yell rang from the hall.

"N-Naruto-kun, sshhh!" Hinata whispered to her boyfriend.

"Okay." Naruto whispered, grinning from ear to ear. He unlocked the classroom door, opened it, and snapped a picture.

"Goth'cha!" He crowed.

"Dumb ass." Two _very_ pissed people said.

"_Eh_?"

Neji was leaning on a desk two over and three rows in front of TenTen, arms crossed.

"Damn it, Naruto, your yelling warned them!" Karin yelled, hitting the said boy.

"I-_TAI_! Gomen, gomen! But, ano, Neji – teichou – did you do anything?" Naruto grinned foxily at his captain, waggling his eyebrows.

"Hn. Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies." Neji grunted, causing the three (Temari was absent because she was two years older than Hinata and had graduated a year before Neji and TenTen) to cheer.

Tennis might be his life and hers, but it wasn't _their_ life. Opposites attract and create a new.

**A/N**: _Blergh. A lot of looking stuff up for this one… and, on top of that, it was shorter than I intended it to be. :C It's at the prom, if Japanese schools have proms(I sadly don't know). If they do, I think Tsunade would be one of those people who made them dress up in the old Japanese clothing.___

_(1) Supposed to be like Neji's thoughts (him getting madder because he knows he's fallen… yeah…)___

_(2) Teichou means captain.___

_(3) Neji's the boy's tennis captain and TenTen is the girl's.___

_Anyone mind reviewing and telling me what they think? Please? Constructive criticism is loved, too…___

_~ Tobi_


	4. Ramen

**TenTen and Neji   
IU  
Rated:** T   
**Disclaimer**: This is – if I owned Naruto, would I be writing on this site? No.

This is the second one-shot of the trilogy.

..::4. _If you wait too long for the perfect moment, the perfect moment will pass you by_.::..

"Teichou! _Teichou_!" She roughly shook the man, who groaned.

"What?" He asked irritably, voice husky.

"Nothing. I just wanted to piss you off." TenTen grinned at the pissed Hyuuga.

"Well, fuck you. We've been traveling for six days straight, no sleep in the past four, fighting in the past two. No more soldier pills for _you_." Neji growled in teasing tones.

TenTen giggled giddily at him. They were teammates again, though as ANBU Black Ops and not genin. In about a year Neji has joined the Black Ops and had successfully become the captain. TenTen wasn't as high up in the ranks of ANBU as he, but she still considered them both being ANBU as teammates.

The 18-year-old growled again, rolling onto his stomach and shoving TenTen onto her back with one arm over her clavicle bone. She giggled again, asking, "What if Kiba woke up and saw this?"

"Screw him." Neji muttered, attempting to sleep again.

"Don't you mean '_Neji_(1) him'?"

"Shut. UP. Or I'll poke you to death."

"I'd like to see you try, teme."

TenTen started laughing as Neji poked her ticklish spots, smirking tiredly.

"Nyeh nyeh!" She said, turning her back to him.

"Good. Sleep time." Neji grunted, hugging her waist and burying his face in the small of her back.

"Teme!"

But her was fast asleep already.(2)

TenTen reflected back on their younger days in silence. Somehow the stoic boy had become her closest friend; their bond was probably stronger than Naruto and Sasuke's before Sasuke went to Orochimaru. Then he had advanced too quickly, leaving her in the dust. He hadn't trained with her, Lee, or Gai(like he ever trained with the spandex clad men anyways) since his fight with Naruto in their first Chunin exams 5 years ago.

Now he was ANBU _captain_, and she was just barely four levels up – _if_ she got her promotion letter at home. A few of the year younger teens(3) had barely scraped into the ANBU Black Ops task force, and they were being babysat, so to speak, by older ANBU on the more dangerous missions. Inuzaka, Kiba was one of those few.

"Hey, nice – ACK!" Kiba, who had woken and sat up, was forced to his back again by "thin air".

"You people are annoying. Shut up and take what time you have to relax and rest for granted." Neji grunted, still not moving from his spot(except for when he held up a hand to Kiba).

"Neji's gonna be up in less than an hour, and he's been doing a hell of a lot more work than us with the Byakugan. Let's give him a break, Kiba." TenTen sighed, and the dog boy complied grumpily as he told Akamaru to be quiet. They traveled again in less than an hour for three days straight back to Konoha(a very tired suddenly wished he had slept longer when he had the chance). Kiba had the duty to report to Tsunade about the mission.

"TenTen, I want to assess your progress. Do you have time to train now?" Neji said, once Kiba and Akamaru were gone.

"Ano… can I eat and come back to you on that?" TenTen asked somewhat hesitantly, thinking, _Training now? He's crazy. _

"Hn." He motioned for her to lead the way.

Though it was 10 am, TenTen headed to Ichiraku's on a rare craving for the ojii's ramen. Naruto was, unsurprisingly, there slurping ramen up.

"Neji-ass, TenTen-niichan!" He crowed happily, spotting them, then adding while waggling his eyebrows, "Ne, ne, you guys on a date?"

"No." Neji stated, leaning against the wall of the bar as TenTen got a stool and ordered.

"I applied for ANBU…" Naruto said, uncharacteristically quiet..

"You'll make it, Naruto." Neji said impassively.

"Eh? You think so?" The younger boy asked nervously.

"Hn. I'll give the teichou a good word."

"Wow, really? Arigatou, Neji-ass!" Naruto grinned.

TenTen decided not to tell Naruto that Neji _was_ the captain if Neji wasn't going to tell him.

"I'll see you 'round, but I gotta go… Bushy Brow said he'll teach me a few new taijutsu moves!" Still hyperactive, Naruto ran off, waving.

"Why didn't you tell him you're the teichou, Neji-teme?" TenTen asked, pausing in her eating.

"He'd get mad, challenge me, and say he's better than me and what not. I don't feel like dealing with that." Neji said simply. _Boys_. TenTen rolled her eyes.

Later on after she was done, in their spar, Neji revealed new offensive and defensive moves that he created. Some falter because they were too weak, and others went out of hand because they were too strong.

"I'm your lab rat, aren't I?" TenTen asked in their break, panting and sitting beneath a tree tiredly.

"No. I need to perfect moves quickly, so in any spar against anyone I'll practice them 'til they're ready." He replied in monotone.

Neji's hair fell from its messy ponytail, framing his sweaty face. His ANBU uniform(minus the mask) didn't help TenTen's imagination. _Stupid. Ninja relationships rarely work, and then you die when your kid's young. Stop dreaming and grow up_. No one in Konoha could deny Neji had grown into a fine young man. He refused marriage requests daily from famous, pure families. His excuse? He was waiting for the "perfect girl".

TenTen knew she wasn't that girl(she didn't have a last name or pure family for one). And she constantly tried to kill any hope of becoming something more than a friend to him. She had done it many times before, but then his kindness and chivalry to her got in the way. His teasing didn't help much, either.

Neji was… everything. He was apathetic to crazy and everything in between – if you got close enough to him for him to actually show it. TenTen doubted even Hinata, Hanabi, or Hiashi had ever heard him laugh since he had been marked. She had,

"TenTen."

She jumped, startled. Neji was up in her face, leaning over her.

"You've been staring out into space for over five minutes. You sick or something?"

TenTen flushed as Neji put a hand on her forehead.

"I'm fine, just – just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

_You_. It'd be a perfect, cliché and sappy moment if she had said it and he admitted that he secretly loved her and all…

"Y – nothing important. C'mon."

She let it pass again, painfully aware Neji knew she was lying.

**A/N**: _FanFic wouldn't let me post Tennis, then I forgot… and, yeah. I dunno why thing one just dragged on, but I like it… c: Oh, if anyone was wondering, the italics not in quotes(most) are TenTen's thoughts. Yeah… I never honestly clarified that… anywhere… so I am now._

(1) Neji means screw, but if Neji was honestly talking, he would have said "Neji ---" (I don't know what you is in Japanese, gomen. So TenTen is just trying to make fun of Neji's name by hinting heavily at it, like when you're saying something like, "Y'know, I mean like like_"_

_(2) I swear, that has happened before. I was talking to Tora-teme, and the next second she's fast asleep. You can't tell me that's impossible when it's happened to me._

(3) Rookie nine kids, minus Sasuke. They wouldn't be called the rookie nine then.

R and R? Please…?

~ Tobi


	5. News

**TenTen and Neji   
IU  
Rated:** K   
**Disclaimer**: Yes. I own Naruto. My name is Kishimoto, Masashi. Bow down to me and my awesomeness. Just kidding… or am I? XD

..::5._Not to know is bad, not to wish to know is worse_.::..

Where was Neji, and how was he? Even through the rain storm she waited above Konoha's North gates for him. Then, she saw him. Motionless. Bleeding excessively. She jumped down from her perch in front of a free medic nin.

"Neji – the boy with long hair – will… will he make it?" TenTen asked, voice trmebling. The medic gave her a sympathetic yet grave look.

"I don't know, missed the vitals, but… who knows how long he's been bleeding? If Shizune-sama and Tsunade-sama weren't here, he'd have no chance. Tsunade-sama is needed with the other boy to reverse a special clan jutsu, and Shizune-sama… last I heard, she's away on a mission. I'm sorry, kiddo, I just don't know." He said.

"A-arigatou…" TenTen followed him, eyes stinging because of tears. The same feeling of hopelessness that she'd felt when she found out about Lee's dire situation settled in her stomach. Suddenly, TenTen wished she hadn't asked.

**A/N**: _So, I finally type this up… yeah. Bit depressing, ne? Get used to it, the next one and possibly numero 7 are also angsty… I'm in an angsty-writing-phase, I guess. I wrote this a long time ago, like in the second week of actually starting this project, but I'm just now typing it. Oh well. R&R, please? Oh, yeah, uh… form the 3__rd__ one, I'd like to thank . for telling me was an obi was and correcting my mistake on clothing names (Kyoto = city, not clothing). 'S what I get for not paying too much attention to the writing beneath the pic on Google. I'd fix it, but that'd be too troublesome…_

_~ Tobi_


	6. Funeral

**TenTen and Neji   
IU  
Rated:** K+ for character death    
**Disclaimer**: Blah, blah, blah, don't own Naruto, blah, blah, blah.

..::6._ Woman is a miracle of divine contradictions_::..

Since he denied his heart to her, she denied any questions of him owning hers. He knew it was a lie, but he never told her or anyone. She was a good actress. Whenever she needed or wanted help, she didn't ask for it, and she wouldn't let anyone help her. When he died, she was asked if she was breaking. She lied, saying she wasn't. Being a good actress, she could convince all but one of her lie.

"TenTen. You're broken." To him, she couldn't lie. He was the only one, other than Lee, that knew when she lied.

"Is this how you felt when you lost your Otou-san, Neji?" TenTen asked, skipping the honorific like him. Why, if he was apart of her family? She'd known him for over a decade now, so neither believed honorifics were needed anymore when they were alone.

"TenTen." She looked into his blank, snow white eyes. The frown on his lips didn't reach his eyes. Nothing ever did; nothing ever had. In a friendly way, Neji enveloped her in an awkward hug. She ducked her head down, pressing her face to the crook of his pale, skinny neck.

"I don't need a hug, Neji." TenTen said softly.

"Liar. Cry like you want to; I won't think lower of you." Neji replied, not feeling her resist to his rare, kind gesture.

"You're the liar, Neji." TenTen whispered, grabbing a hold of his shirt when her eyes stung. Crying was always below Neji, and he'd always think lower of you if you cried.

"Lee wouldn't want us to call each other liars after his funeral." Neji said, avoiding the truth.

"He wouldn't want me to cry, either."

**A/N**: _Short an angsty, again. Sorry. It's not exactly NejiTen, more of a one-sided LeeTen… oh well. This was not even close to what I ever wanted to write in the first place. Oh, yeah, I lied about the trilogy. I guess it's only a two-thing now. Sorry._

_~ Tobi_


	7. Inu and Yoga Problems

**TenTen and Neji   
AU  
Rated:** T for words and suggestive things    
**Disclaimer**: Do you honestly think I own Naruto – or even the prompt?

..::7._ The difference between friendship and love is how much you can hurt each other._::..

"Yoga?"

"Yoga."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes"

"No."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"YES! HAHAHA! I didn't fall for it this time, in yo' FACE!" The girl started dancing in random circles around him as a victory dance.

"Ne, Neji-kun, why're you so against it? You're flexible. You won't be mistaken for a girl, either. And, let's face it – you have anger issues with anything to do with your family. See? You tensed at it – proof! Yoga calms ones body, entices the mind and soul…" TenTen said, leaning over and placing her bony elbows on his thighs to hold up her head on her fists.

"You have no clue what that word means, do you?" Neji asked stonily. TenTen grinned at him, shaking her head. He sighed, avoiding those large, honey brown eyes. If he saw them he'd… too late.

"Fine." He huffed, acting more like a five-year-old in a tantrum than the 25-year-old man he was. Neji had seen her eyes, much like a pleading puppy's, and given in.

"Yay, Neji-kun! But now we have to find Sasu-chan and Kiba-chan… I mean, I think I scheduled a hair appointment today with them…" TenTen said, pecking Neji on the nose before she spoke. He sighed, running his hand through his long, milk chocolate locks; he knew before the day ended he was going to regret seeing her eyes and giving into the yoga.

-(Time skip to The Hunter's Hair Salon)-

"So-ooo, Neji-chan – a trim and TenTen-chan, shoulder blade length, ne?" A 24-year-old man asked from behind a blond customer when TenTen dragged Neji into their shop. It was just a small rented space in Konoha's Public Mall while the two owners were still in college. After graduating, they planned to go open a bigger shop uptown.

"Hai, Kiba-chan!" TenTen chirped, sitting down in the waiting area. Neji leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, glaring. Sure, Kiba and Sasuke were nice guys… but, seriously, what straight guy liked it when the person they went to for a trim hit on them?

"Aww, Neji-kun, don't be like that! I swear me and Sasu-chan will behave!" Kiba cooed, finishing the blond off.

"You guys never behave, baka inu!" The blond yelled, fishing around in his pockets for money.

"But Naru-chan, you're too cute!" Another man entered the shop, two bags on his left arm. His hair was ebony and styled in his own, favorite way – like a duck's ass.

"Shut up, Sas-gay-teme!" Naruto snarled, shoving the money into Kiba's hand and bolting, causing TenTen to laugh. Though all three men were best friends, they never acted like it. Poor Naruto, befriending two gay men that openly hit on other men. Sasuke had once hidden the fact, acting just like Neji did in public - before Kiba and Naruto changed him, that is. It had happened in their third and final year in senior high school when Neji and TenTen had left for college.

"Now, who's first? TenTen-chan or Mr. Stick-up-his-arse?" Kiba said, grinning wolfishly.

"You got Naru-chan, so I get Neji-chan!" Sasuke said, going to the back to deposit his purchases into their office. Well, they called it an office when it was just really an old storage closet they cleared out to put things into that needed to be locked up.

"Ass." Kiba muttered, before looking back at the two quiet customers.

"Ano… I will, I guess?" TenTen laughed, getting up and going into the chair recently vacated by Naruto. Kiba pulled her hair down, tan fingers threading through her hair lightly.

"Are you sure Neji-chan doesn't help you sometimes, TenTen-chan? Ever since you brought him here, your hair smells and feels the same as his! Well, his sill feels silkier 'cause he never puts it up, but still. Oh, don't tell me you _shower_ together?" Kiba rambled, getting a cover for TenTen and wrapping it gently around her neck.

"Inuzuka-san." Neji growled, fingers tightening on his left bicep, nails digging into the thin fabric of his white button-up shirt.

"Oh, hush, you both act like dogs. No, Kiba-chan, Neji-kun doesn't shower with me. Heh, it'd be funny, though… Neji-kun would come out smelling all girly!" TenTen snickered, glaring at Neji from the mirror in front of her. She stuck her tongue out childishly at his reflection and Kiba started spraying her hair with a water bottle, running a comb through her silky locks as he did so. For a second, Neji contemplated on making a stupid face back at her, but, ultimately, he decided against it. Kiba and TenTen chatted happily while he did his work as a hair stylist, until he whined he was done.

"You should really come here more often than four times a year, TenTen-chan – Neji-chan. I'm surprised you got Neji-chan to trim his hair every four months instead of once a year, haha… There ya go – Sasu-chan! It's Neji-chan's turn!" Kiba crowed, pulling the cover off of TenTen while grinning. Going back to the waiting area, she tied her hair back up into her signature buns as Neji replaced her in the chair. Kiba went to the back as Sasuke reappeared, half drunken green tea bottle in his hand.

"I love doing you hair, Neji-chan – it's always so soft! That stupid mutt Kiba-san always has rough hair." Sasuke said, placing his tea on the workstation and tying the cover around Neji's neck, cold, slim fingers brushing against his firm neck every so often. He repeated what Kiba had done, spraying Neji's hair with water as he combed it.

"You take good care of your hair. Why? I mean, you're not even gay or bi… there aren't many fully straight men with such pretty hair out there." Sasuke said, asking the same question he did every time he got to trim Neji's hair.

"Don't know, don't care." He grunted, closing his eyes as Sasuke started to work his magic. Both he and Kiba were skilled hairdressers for such a young age, and they were also cheap. Sunday was the only day you didn't have a long wait for them to work their magic on your hair; Sunday was the day they reserved for people who scheduled a date so they could have a semi-laid back day.

"Ne, Sasu-chan, you know where we're going after this?" TenTen called, eyes glinting mischievously as the man was trimming the end of Neji's long locks carefully.

"Hmm… the sushi bar?" Sasuke guessed, moving to Neji's front to trim said man's long bangs that he'd grown out a while back.

"Nope – Hinata-chan's yoga place!" She replied with mirth, causing Sasuke to laugh.

"Get a picture pf Neji-chan doing that ballerina-like pose for us, would you? Send a copy to the dobe, too – that'd be perfect for blackmailing. I'm pretty sure he needs blackmail on Neji-chan for something…" Sasuke replied, dark brown eyes narrowing at Neji's face that remained impassive.

"Jeez, how many times have you gotten laid, man? Five times plus? It only took me three fucks to—"

"I don't give a damn, Uchiha-san." Neji replied curtly, opening his snow-white eyes. The Uchiha smirked before taking the cover off and announcing that he was done.

"That'll be 3,382" Kiba said, going over to the cash register and typing up a woman's cut and a men's trim. Neji paid with credit card before being dragged by TenTen, who was waving with her free arm and calling good-bye to them (they were bumping hips, congratulating each other on another job well-done while saying, "You go tame that beastly man, girlfriend!" to TenTen and waving), over to his cousin's yoga area down the hall. She called it "The Hyuuga's Breathing Space". Now, that name was a bit misleading as it was hard for some people to breath while doing yoga, and it wasn't specifically for the Hyuuga family.

"Hey, 'Nata-chan! Me and Neji-kun are joining your 4:30 session!" TenTen called, right hand gripping said man's forearm in a painful grip so there was no escape. Said Hyuuga heiress, doing the Adho Mukha Svanasana pose with her current class, murmured, "Yes – sit with Naruto-kun, then. Please refrain from being too loud." TenTen nodded, dragging Neji with her to sit next to Naruto. He grinned devilishly at Neji, pulling his phone out and taking a picture.

"Never thought I'd see the great Hyuuga-pain-in-the-ass here. I come for… well, it soothes me… and, besides, I getta see 'Nata-chan in some nice poses!" He whispered, devilish grin still on his birth-marked mug.

"Refrain from talking about my cousin like that in front of me, Uzumaki-san." Neji deadpanned, standing next to his sitting girlfriend (most of their friends made fun of them by saying they were engaged… Neji did not know why, but he guessed eight years with out a proposal might have been a long time to date for their young minds).

"Did he pop the question yet, TenTen-chan?" Naruto asked, making a popping noise with his lips for extra effect.

"Eh?!"

"You two fuck every other weekend, so I thought, maybe, while you two were having kinky sex on a desk or something that he—"

"Sh-shut up, Naruto-baka!" TenTen stammered, going red and slapping a hand over the blond's mouth.

"Only low-lifes like you have kinky sex, Uzumaki-san – and I don't have sex every other weekend. Do I look like some hormone-plagued man that needs sex?" Neji hissed as Naruto shoved TenTen's hand off his mouth.

"Well… DUH, dumbfucker." Naruto nearly yelled, getting a stern look from Hinata.

"N-ne, ne – itai, itai, that hurts! Wa-ah, 'Nata-chan, your abusive cousin is hurting me-eeee!" Naruto yelled when Neji got him in a full nelson hold, banging the poor, brain cell deprived man's head against the soft, plushy chair he'd been so rudely yanked up and out of.

"Neji-kun, stop it, you're gonna get rid of what brain cells he has left!" TenTen said, jumping up and coaxing the pissed Hyuuga to release his hold on Naruto (Hinata was glaring at all three from her Vrksasana pose).

"You are so whipped." Naruto snickered, earning him a whack upside the head form TenTen.

"Just shut up or next time Hinata-chan will have to get him off you, and I'm sure she won't be able to help the situation sense he really detests his family." TenTen snapped as Naruto rubbed his head. Thinking that was the best choice, he sat in silence for the remaining ten minutes before Hinata's 4:30 session of yoga started. The class had Neji, TenTen, Naruto, Shikamaru (yeah, big shocker), Ino, Sakura, Haku, Zabuza, Genma, Anko (another shocker), and Kakashi (last shocker of the class) in it. Ironically, Neji got even more agitated during the half yoga session he attended. His cousin had to repeatedly help Naurto (that bastard was so faking it), and he hated the way his flexibility was tested. Neji would much rather go to some dojo a beat the shit out of a few dozen dummies, but, no, he _had_ to look into TenTen's pleading eyes. He needed some sort of resistance plan for that one day… At 5, that was when he called with quits. Like Sasuke's words had haunted him, Hinata decided to take the class through the Natarajasana pose. That stupid pose crossed the line in Neji's book, and he was out, ignoring Hinata and TenTen's words telling him to stay (he even successfully didn't bend to TenTen's puppy eyes – a feat he was quite proud of himself for). He took a slight detour on the way out of the mall, having to take a cab home since TenTen had stolen his car keys.

"Ne, Bastard of the Century, you here?" TenTen yelled at 5:57, entering the apartment they shared together.

"Hello-oooo? Anyone home?" She called, hearing no answer. The lamp next to the couch was on, which it hadn't been when they'd left earlier, saying someone was there.

"Hn." TenTen jumped slightly as Neji poked his head from around the corner connecting the hall to the main living area.

"Don't do that to me, bastard. Kami-sama, I was getting bad thoughts…" She placed a hand on her now racing, but steadily slowing, heart.

"What kind of bad thoughts? 'Cause I'm getting some, seeing you wear that." He mumbled huskily, eyes running up and down his girlfriend. She had on a black mini-skirt, a tight-fitting, button-down scarlet shirt showing more cleavage than she normally did (he could see the top three buttons were manufactured not to button), and two-inch strappy black heels.

"Shut up. Ino-chan forced me to put it on during Hinata-chan's break and stole – literally, because she ran off and didn't come back and said she was going home when I called her cell – my clothes. Ugh, I hate her and Sakura-chan's sick fantasies about you and me… do you know what they think we do, living together? It's worse than even _Naruto-baka_! This time Hinata-chan sided with them, too…" TenTen said, flushing and pouting as she sat down on the couch.

"Don't happen to know what's on the telly, do you, Neji-kun? Neji-kuuun?" She asked idly, turning on the TV and flipping through the channels. TenTen burst out laughing when Neji walked in front of the TV, arms crossed over his bare chest.

"You so planned this with them!"

"Did not."

"Did so!"

"Did so."

"Did not! …… DAMNIT! You won this time, Hyuuga-san…" TenTen cursed, pouting again. Neji was scarcely dressed – only a white towel was wrapped around his waist. She had to admit he really couldn't have planned it because Neji did not speak to Ino and Sakura unless he absolutely had to, and he did look a bit damp (especially his hair, which was still dripping slightly), like he had just showered recently.

"Put something on, I can't take you seriously with only a towel on! Though I could get a blackmail snapshot… Stay right there while I get a camera, buddy!" TenTen said, giggling slightly as she rose to go fetch a camera. She found she couldn't, being pinned to the couch by Neji.

"Eh, I was… kidding…?" She said, uncertainly, as the Hyuuga male placed his arms lazily over the couch on the sides of her head while straddling her waist. TenTen gave Neji a confused look as he smirked at her, arching his back so his face was level with hers.

"Fun fact number one: Petting an animal calms some people. Fun fact number two: I am a sex-deprived man, scantly dressed, with you wrapped up nicely for me. Fun fact number three: Showers are quite calming – they also make you think. Fun fact number four: You. Are. Mine." He stated calmly, rising slightly to press his forehead in a downward angle against hers.

"Yeah, one question, Mr. Possessive-and-obviously-horny… what the fuck is up with fun fact number one?" TenTen asked, getting her answer almost at once when Neji lowered himself to her jaw and licked. His tongue ran slowly and seductively across her jaw line, up her cheeks, and from her chin to her nose… just like a dog would, though much slower and precise, when he greeted a long-or-not-so-long-lost friend. His hips moved slightly in a slow motion, mimicking a dog wagging his tail – though, again, much slower. Neji stopped when TenTen started laughing, hands pressed against the chilled panes of his chest.

"St-stop that! One: It tickles, Two: your hips moving like that give me images!" She said, burying her face in the crook of his neck, still laughing.

"Images of what?" Neji asked, smirking.

"You giving Sasu-can or Kiba-chan a lap dance!" She was turning hysterical now, hands curling into fists against his skin. He went rigid, eyes narrowing. They were like that for a long while, before banging on the door made her stop and look up, accidentally banging heads with Neji.

"TenTen-chan! I have your clothes! Oh TenTen-chaaaannn!" Ino's sing-songy voice floated through the door.

"In a minute, Ino-chan – there's a dog on top of my right now!" TenTen called, laughing slightly and attempting to push Neji away. She was quite unsuccessful.

"Oh, _really_ now? Are you sure it's not Neji-kun doing nasty things to you?" Ino laughed, and both Neji and TenTen could picture the blond outside, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"No, she's not, go away." Ino giggled, hearing Neji reply for TenTen. She barely heard a surprised feminine yelp and a possessive masculine growl through the door.

"Oh, you two love-birds! What to do with these clothes of TenTen-chan's?"

"Nej-iiiii! Ano, maybe tomorrow, Ino-chan?" TenTen's desperate yell made the blond giggle yet again.

"Fine, just remember to use a condom!"

"INO-CHAN!" TenTen yelled, causing Neji to growl at her again, biting harder on the crook of her neck. No reply came this time, meaning Ino had left to go gossip about them, probably telling Naruto his kinky-sex-every-other-weekend thoughts were true (which they honestly weren't. It was every weekend and sometimes Friday, too… and not kinky - save for this time). TenTen yelped again when Neji stopped concentrating on biting and instead turned his full attention on sucking. Then his mouth left her skin all together, causing her to whimper.

"See? You do want it." Neji said huskily in her ear, now licking that in his slow, seductive way.

"Arg, you bastard!" TenTen sighed, giving up on resisting because she knew his words were true.

-.-.-.-.-

"Hey, Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan – you'll never guess what's happening." Ino gushed into her cell phone, in a three-way with Sakura and Hinata.

"What?" Both girls asked at the same time.

"Neji-kun and TenTen-chan are having hot, kinky sex right now!" Ino practically yelled, laughing manically, earning her an odd look from the man driving the cab.

"Really?! Hmm… how so?" Sakura asked, over Hinata's laughter, voice quite amused.

"I'll relay it! I was gonna give back her clothes since I have them and would never wear them – too icky, no offense to TenTen-chan, of course – and went to their apartment. I asked if she could come get them, and she said she'd come in a minute because there was a dog currently on her! So I'm, like, asking if it's not Neji-kun. _He_ replied! He replied, saying she wasn't sure and to go away! Then she yelped and he growled and I left, advising them to use a condom!" Ino said, all in one breath, only hearing laughter from her two friends as a response. The cabby was now glancing at her in the rear-view mirror every safe chance he got, his look questioning the blond's sanity. Ino joined in on the laughter until she hung up (Sakura was going to three-way Sasuke and Naruto to repeat what Ino said, and Hinata was going to three-way Temari and Karin).

"I wonder when he's gonna pop the question, though… Hey, Ojii-san, are you married?" Ino mumbled to herself, then addressed the cabby.

"Uh, yeah…" He muttered, ears going red.

"How long did you date your wife before you asked her to marry you?" It was a few minutes before he replied, "Four years."

Ino groaned, "Kami-sama, we need to get Neji-kun to propose soon… eight years is far too long."

**A/N**: _… I wrote this around three months ago, and I'm not sure if It fits the prompt exactly… but… I killed Neji and Sasuke's pride – some of Kiba's, too, not to mention a wee bit of Narutios – and Neji got TenTen once(she got him twice, methinks)… so… yeah. Destroying the pride of men is a heavy blow, I'm sure. The eight years part – Neji is one slow trucker. Needs to swallow that pride for a wee bit. Now al I have to do to finish the whole thing is type up the others… if I can find where they went…_

_Adho Mukha Svanasana – downward facing dog__  
__Vrksasana__ – tree pose  
Natarajasana – ballerina pose_

_~ Tobi_


	8. Confession

**TenTen and Neji  
IU  
Rated**: K  
**Disclaimer**: No tengo Naruto (… I think that's right, yes? If not, I don't own Naruto…)

..::8. _For everything gained; something is lost._::..

To delve this deep into his soul, to see with eyes not possessing a Kekkei Genkai… was a remarkable feat. There was a slight tint to her tan face and she didn't look at him directly, almost as if she was shy, which they both knew she wasn't.

"Do you honestly wish to sacrifice 10 years of your life?" Neji asked, head tilting slightly to one side, bangs covering his right eye in the process. He was curious at why she'd sacrifice so much on such a whim…

"… Yes." Her reply was low, uncertain, even. Neji continued to peer at her with blank eyes until she lost her nerve and turned to face him again.

"And on what grounds do you base this off of? A whim of lust?" He asked, wanting to delve deeper into her mind, her thoughts, her feelings… she was willing to sacrifice so much, on what? He needed to know. At his bluntness TenTen's cheeks flamed darker and her eyebrows turned downward.

"It's not a whim of lust, Neji!" He was undeterred from his quest of knowledge at her sharp words. Neji gave her a look that she knew was telling her to go on, to tell more than he'd normally want her to. This was not his forte, they both knew, so it made sense to her that he wasn't making any sense of it at all.

"It's… I… since the beginning, Neji. You were different to me. I thought it was the sibling love because I always wanted to prove myself and beat you. I honestly thought Lee–kun was… my "crush" after the Sasuke-san… thing, whatever that was. Gai-sensei was my father, definitely. But as the years wore on, I got more brother figures… Naruto-baka, Kiba-baka… but, as I felt the same towards them as Lee-kun, I realized it was the other way around. They were the brother figures, and you were… the "crush". I've waited a long time since I've figured I out… and since we're both ANBU now and…"

"But we've been ANBU for a long while now." Neji interrupted, slowly trying to put logical explanations into TenTen's illogical feelings. She nodded, shrugging.

"Yes, we have… but I… didn't think was quite right to deter you, me, or even Lee-kun is gaining ANBU ranks. You're now, and have been for a while, a captain. I'm under your charge now… but not for long. I have a feeling Lee-kun and I will follow in Kakashi-sense's footsteps to train the young. I know Lee-kun will; he wants to become a Gai-sensei to a group of orphans. And, well, I just kind of want to get it off my chest… to get rejected or accepted… by you. You accept people in the ninja abilities, and I know you've long since accepted me, but I want to be allowed into your broken heart to weld the pieces back together." TenTen finished quietly, again adverting her eyes from Neji. She knew he was trying to be logical with her feelings, and maybe his as well.

"To love me, really… damaged goods never to be fixed. A slave of those lesser than me. Do you really want that? You might join me in the ranks of a slave to those weaker than you." Neji said, blinking slowly. He couldn't say he'd never cared for TenTen… but dare he say he loved her? Sine his father's departure from the world, he'd forgotten what love honestly felt like… both from his own heart and from others. Some could say he was socially retarded while others could say he was a human ice cube. Either way, they both led to him not knowing feelings or not feeling them at all. To say one was right or neither was would be wrong since he certainly did feel some feelings (hate, rage, anger, sadness, pain, all the negatives, happiness, regret…)… but he also did not know what he felt (like when his father was alive… what was that love, really?). Neji knew TenTen meant something to him, certainly, but to what extent he knew not. Dare he experiment with the unknown and illogical?

"I don't care, Neji. We're all slaves in some respect... what is another chain to me? Another bar to my cage? Nothing, really, since I love and am, therefore, loved…" TenTen shrugged once more, glancing quickly at him. Neji's face was impassive as ever while hers showed her emotions.

"My eyes can see many things… but not the red string of fate. If you wish to experiment and possibly sacrifice 10 years of your being, I will consent to this as long as the village does not know. To be rumored about, questioned, and quite possibly have blackmail form is not what any ninja needs. Be warned, for the last time, before you choose, once you're in, it's impossible to get out." Neji said, watching as a grin slide across TenTen's face. He'd grown accustomed to seeing it present there and felt the satisfaction of making it appear on her once saddened face. TenTen knew he meant two things with his last warning. If she were able to worm her way through the cracks in the ice surrounding his heart protect it from further pain, she'd never be able to leave it; also, if she was ever to enter his Clan, they'd trap her until her death.

"Hyuuga, Neji, you are just as possessive as the Main Branch." She'd regret that later, she knew, but to see his fierce glare present again made her grin widen. For if he was glaring, he felt something. And if he felt those feelings, she just might be able to get more feelings out of him… hopefully the more positive ones.

**A/N**: _Not the usual love confession, is it? Kinda short, too… A bit dark, but, really, I can't see Neji proclaiming his undying love to TenTen or even kissing her if she ever confessed. I doubt TenTen would be the type to even admit it, even though we only have a narrow view on her character excluding the Filler episodes. If you don't agree with me, go ahead and tell me. I'd love to know what other people think. And I know Gai was their sensei, but I don't know if he ever dropped out of ANBU to teach genins, so I used Kakashi as an example for them._

_And, no, this was not my original 8. I can't fin my original 8, 9, and 10 so I'll be making new ones. None of them will be remotely like the originals, though._

_~ Tobi_


End file.
